


Doctor, Doctor

by cadavs



Category: Big Hero 6 (2014), Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Character Death, Multi, doctor!Tadashi, jadashi - Freeform, medical AU, snowbots, tadafrost
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-12
Updated: 2016-05-05
Packaged: 2018-04-04 00:56:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 18,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4120483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cadavs/pseuds/cadavs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Dr. Tadashi Hamada is one very handsome doctor and Jack Frost is one very interesting patient. Jadashi/Tadafrost/snowbots/whatever else is their pairing name</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Pneumonia

The boy that catches Tadashi’s eye when he first walks into the exam room is rough-and-tumble looking. That’s not to say he looks burly and full of cuts and bruises, but more _mischievous_ , despite looking slightly sick. Tadashi has a feeling that for all the mischief this boy probably causes, he’s a good person. But it still irks the doctor when he walks through the door and the first words out of the kid’s mouth are, “Awesome. I get the _cute_ doctor.”

Tadashi thinks he really shouldn’t have been surprised by anything at this point in his career, especially by comments like that.

Still, Tadashi lets out a good-humored chuckle and smiles, pulling a pen from the breast pocket of his doctor coat to write on the chart in his hands. He says, “Well I’m happy to have made your day. My name is Dr. Hamada.” He glances at his chart a moment to skim through the information on the pages. He’s slightly shocked by how old Jack really is. “So, Jack Frost, is it?”

“That’s my name – till death do I part with it,” Jack says with a grin that makes Tadashi think of a fox. “You can just call me Jack, though. Forget all the last name formality crap, please.” Jack emphasizes his lack of caring with a short wave of his hand. Tadashi nods in acknowledgement.

“Alright then, Jack. It’s nice to meet you. First things first, we’ll get a brief history,” Dr. Hamada states casually, pulling a rolling stool over to sit on. He asks Jack a series of brief, typical questions and Jack, in turn, answers. Though his answers aren’t completely without snarky comments, especially when it comes to the topic of any sexual activity.

“I always use a condom, though,” Jack states with a tone of seriousness and while Tadashi is slightly surprised, he’s relieved to see someone so young take protection seriously.

“Very good,” Tadashi says while scribbling some notes on his chart. He wants to ask a few more questions, but is promptly stopped from doing so when Jack has a rather peculiar sounding coughing fit.

“S-sorry,” Jack says as he clears his throat. Tadashi shakes his head as if to say, “Don’t worry about it,” and stands, taking his stethoscope from around his neck.

“Could I ask you to remove your shirt?” Tadashi asks, putting the eartips in his ears. He refrains from saying anything about how pale Jack is in favor of placing the diaphragm against Jack’s chest, asking him to take deep breaths while he moves the metal around, listening to the wheezing in Jack’s chest. Jack, meanwhile, tries not to cough on the doctor or shiver from how cold the metal is.

Once Jack has his shirt and sweater back on – a cool blue that matches well with his eyes, Tadashi notices – Dr. Hamada takes Jack’s temperature and pulse.

“How long have you had this cough and fever?”

“Eh… about a week or so,” Jack says, shrugging as he scratches lightly at his cheek. “It was getting worse with the weather so I figured it was just a small cold. But my friend started nagging me about coming in, and now I’m here.”

“Trouble breathing lately?”

“A little… Am I gonna die or something?” Jack asks. Tadashi shakes his head with a small chuckle.

“No, you’re not going to die. But it is good that you came in when your friend suggested. It’s a mild case of pneumonia,” Tadashi explains as he sits back on the stool. “We’ll give you a round of high-dose antibiotics and have you come back in say… Three days? Four if you can’t make it on the third.”

“That’s a relief to hear. So, will I get to see my doctor when I come back in?” Jack asks with a smirk that makes Tadashi chuckle again.

“Sure. I should be around if there isn’t a crisis going on,” the doctor replies.

“Cool. I’ll be looking forward to it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm currently in the middle of rewriting chapters because I'm an idiot and didn't realize tense changes and stuff... Anyway, this is uploaded on other sites but I wanted to attempt to make my shit quality before posting it here lmao


	2. Pain Rating

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which appendicitis sucks

“Patient: 19 year old male, admitted with chronic abdominal pain, vomiting, fever, and headache.”

Dr. Tadashi Hamada looks up from his lab work at a nurse in purple and blue scrubs, her brown hair piled on her head. She’s holding out a file folder to Tadashi and he notices how starkly the pink of her nails contrasts with the dark gray-green of the folder.

“And another doctor can’t take this patient because…?” Tadashi doesn’t mean to sound snappish, but he’s been there for _hours_ past his shift and frankly, he was tired as hell.

“Because he’s refusing treatment unless it’s by you,” she replies, brushing off Tadashi’s tone because she understands how hellish it can be staying after hours.

When Tadashi nods and says, “Okay, fine… Let me finish this lab first,” she leaves the folder on the counter and walks off to, presumably, finish rounds or paperwork.

Once finished, Tadashi takes his glasses from atop his head to read the chart. He doesn’t need to look up from it to navigate expertly to the patient’s room – especially in a hospital at this time of night. Tadashi frowns at the name on the file, hoping it isn’t his white-haired stalker – okay, so Jack isn’t a stalker, but Tadashi has a feeling he has potential to become one if he wanted – if only for Jack’s sake. Because coming to a hospital so often in just a few weeks probably isn’t a very good practice. Unfortunately his hopes are dashed when he walks in the room and is greeted by the same pale face he first encountered those weeks ago. Though, now Jack’s expression seems to be torn between pain and amusement at seeing Tadashi, causing the doctor to sigh.

“So, not just a fever and headache this time, but vomiting and chromic abdominal pain? I’m curious to hear what happened.”

“Bordering on severe, mind you,” Jack grunts, managing to keep a smirk plastered on his face. Tadashi takes a washcloth left from one of the nurses earlier and drapes it gingerly over Jack’s forehead and it’s only then that he sees just how much a strain this mystery pain is putting on Jack. “By the way, you look really – uhn – cute with glasses.”

“And you look like hell. If it’s so severe, why haven’t you let anyone treat you?” Tadashi asks with obvious concern. Jack shrugs, saying, “I’m not in the trusting doctors business. Usually.”

“But you decided to make an exception for me? Really, Jack, I feel honored.” And Tadashi really isn’t lying – he’s had patients with trust issues towards doctors before and is relieved when either he or another of his peers is able to gain some semblance of trust with them. “But how long have you been this way?”

“Er… This bad? Not too long… A few hours? I’ve had this irritating pain in my side-ish for a few days now and suddenly it just fuckin’ _hurts_...” Jack explains while Tadashi is pulling on exam gloves and moving blankets and Jack’s gown. He prods here and there on Jack’s abdomen with his fingers, earning a few, “ _Ow that hurts, dammit,_ ” remarks from Jack. Tadashi pockets the latex gloves and sighs, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth for a few heartbeats.

“I was afraid of this. I thought we talked about the dangers of waiting too long to seek medical attention after last week’s incident with Ms. Frazier?” Tadashi says in a stern way while he’s moving to push a button to an intercom above the bed. “Nurse, we need to prep the OR for immediate surgery.”

“Yes, sir.”

Jack makes a face at the mention of the patient and then his eyes go wide as what Tadashi had said sinks into his brain. “Wait, _surgery?_ No, no way. I’ll be—“

“Jack,” Tadashi says calmly, setting a hand on Jack’s shoulder. “ _Something_ has ruptured in your abdomen. My best guess is your appendix but without an MRI scan to confirm, we can’t know for sure. What I do know, however, is if we don’t get you in now, there’s a good chance you’re going to go septic – and neither of us wants that, believe me.”

“But-“

“Jack, we don’t have time. Please,” Tadashi says softly as nurses start pouring into the room. Jack stares at Tadashi for a beat before he sighs and nods, wincing.

While they wheel Jack to the OR, Tadashi stay right next to him. The doctor assures Jack that everything is going to be fine, that yes, they’ll sedate him, and that even Tadashi will be in there.

Under the harsh glare of the overhead OR lights, Jack feels his headache worsen sharply and his nausea increase. Someone is putting a clear mask over his nose and mouth and Jack notes that the air in it has a weird smell. His eyes dart around the room as he tries to calm his nerves, hearing someone talk to him. Above him, he sees a nurse with a round face.

“Jack,” he says soothingly. “I need you to count back from ten to one for me.”

Because Jack has nothing else to do other than fight off the rising panic at the commotion in the room, Jack starts counting back. His eyes search the room again, locking with a familiar brown pair.

By the time Jack is in the middle of seven, he’s gone.

\- - -

The next thing Jack feels is pain without reason, until he realizes that it is _way_ too bright. Blinking, Jack finds that the source of light appears to be the lamp over his bed before its suddenly put out. He doesn’t question it much, nor the feeling of another presence in the room before he drifts again.

\- - -

By the time Jack is lucid enough to actually tell what was going on, he finds that Tooth has practically moved into the room with him. He hears a _thunk_ on the floor that is immediately accompanied by a, “Ohmy _god_ Jack!”

“H-hey Toothie,” Jack rasps with a wince, her eager, high pitched voice not doing anything to help with his headache. He sees her frown in an apologetic manner and hears her say, “Sorry,” in a hushed tone and takes the cup of water she’s poured for him like a sort of offering. He smiles and notices a twinkle in Tooth’s eye that he recognizes as her winding up to go on a rant.

“I was so _worried_ about you, Jack!” Tooth says immediately, her apologetic demeanor evaporating and Jack sets his cup aside with a slight sigh. “How could you _do_ that?”

“Tooth, I’m fine. It didn’t—“

“But it could have been so much worse—you _know_ it could have been! If Dr. Hamada hadn’t rushed you into surgery… Oh, Jack…” Tooth sighs with a dejected look, falling back into her chair with her head in her hands and Jack sees her blue hair a mess and green and yellow bangs fall over her hands. He briefly is reminded that it’s been a long while since he’s seen Tooth without her hair styled – save for rolling just out of bed – and then wonders what time it is behind feeling guilty for making Tooth worry so. “I swear, if I wasn’t there to force you to the doctor, you’d have been dead a long time ago.”

“Well, that’s probably a rather valid estimation,” a voice says from the doorway that nearly makes Jack jump and look up quickly. Dr. Hamada clears his throat, stepping inside and walking on over to Jack’s bedside. “Apologies. I tried knocking, but it seems you two were having a rather engrossing discussion.”

“I wouldn’t have been dead,” Jack grumbles grumpily at the same time Tooth says, “I was just telling Jack how worried I was for him.” She wipes at her eyes, which in turn makes Jack’s guilt grow. Tadashi only gives a small smile.

“It’s good that you were worried,” he says to Tooth before turning to Jack. “I’ll have to agree with your friend on this one, Jack. The situation could have gotten a lot worse in an alarmingly short amount of time.” Though Tadashi’s tone is gentle, Jack still feels like he’s being scolded. He watches Tadashi push his glasses up by the edge of the frame where the arm connects and flip through Jack’s chart.

“Just like the pneumonia,” Tooth says to Jack. “You were bed ridden for nearly a _week_!”

“It was only a few days,” Jack sighs and takes to staring at the ceiling.

“Jack, it was _serious_!”

“But I’m fine now, Tooth.”

“Well, you’re _something_ alright,” Tooth says with a huff and walks out to calm her nerves. Tadashi clears his throat again, more so to signal a change of subject. “I see you’re feeling better. A good sign.”

“I haven’t been here nearly long enough for anything to be considered serious – at this point – have I?” Jack asks, seeing Tadashi glance at him from over is glasses. In the back of his mind, Jack is amused that the glasses keep sliding down just enough to not stay where Tadashi obviously wants them.

“Well… That depends on your point of view. You’ve been here an awful lot over the past month – I’m surprised you haven’t caught any other nasty colds,” Tadashi says truthfully. It’s natural that someone who doesn’t usually spend a lot to any time in a hospital to catch something, unlike himself who _works_ there. Jack smiles sheepishly that Tadashi thinks borders on a smirk and briefly thinks back to all the visits Jack has had – mainly to hang out in Tadashi’s office because he can’t very well go everywhere – and how friendly they’ve become. Though, not enough that they would see each other outside of Tadashi’s work place, but he has a feeling that, if asked, Jack would eventually admit that he’d like to spend time outside of the hospital with the doctor. However, the morality of it all would weigh heavily on Tadashi, beings that Jack is still his patient – and probably would continue to be if Jack had any say in it. And besides, it wasn’t as if Tadashi hadn’t dealt with patients wanting to be exceedingly friendly with him.

“Hello, Jack. My name is Bailey and I’ll be your attending. On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?” Jack looks up from watching Tadashi silently muse to a pudgy, but welcoming nurse dressed in white scrubs. He’s smiling warmly at Jack and the young man can’t help but be instantly calmed.

“Erm… Right now? Maybe a four or five,” Jack replies and Bailey nods. He moves to adjust Jack’s morphine and checks on his vitals before bidding them a good day. Jack blinks slowly as he says, “Nice guy...”

Tadashi wants to chuckle at Jack, hearing the laziness in his voice as the morphine kicks in. He responds with, “Bailey is wonderful. Very smart and caring – the children’s ward really loves him. He’s been here such a long time, too.”

“The hospital is very lucky to have such great staff,” Jack notes. Tadashi nods in reply before asking if Jack needs anything else.

“Could you apologize to Tooth for me?”

Tadashi can’t help but laugh. “Sorry, but that’s something you’ll have to take care of on your own.”

Jack sighs and pouts as he watches Tadashi leave the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never had appendicitis, but I imagine it to be a huge pain. From what my aunt has told me when hers ruptured, it's very unfun :(
> 
> Tadashi+glasses should be a religion.


	3. Healing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Jack gets to go home and things get rocky

Jack is kept in the hospital for the next few days, which he’s obviously upset over. Tadashi tries to console him by talking with him during his own downtimes and even a few hours after his shifts, but he still sees the unease in Jack’s eyes and wonders if Jack just really hates hospitals that much.

One time when Tadashi comes in to take Jack’s vitals in place of Bailey – the nurses are having a small party for a retiring nurse in the break room – he’s surprised to find a mountain of pillows in place of his patient. Letting out a soft sigh, he walks over and starts to take the pillows from the bed. Despite the slight annoyance – and in the back of his mind, shock because Tadashi is unable to come up with a good explanation for why there are so many pillows – he still has a soft smile on his lips.

“Fight me,” Tadashi hears Jack say once most of his face is uncovered.

“What?”

“Fight me! I’m bored,” Jack says, huffing slightly. Tadashi is taken aback for a moment, unsure how to proceed with this young man buried in pillows. He eventually just laughs and says, “I’m not going to fight you, Jack. You’ll rip your stitches. Besides, I’m pretty sure you’d win anyway.”

Tadashi can’t help but notice how much brighter Jack’s demeanor gets that day.

During the time Tadashi isn’t spending talking to Jack, Tadashi notes, Jack and Tooth are bickering with each other. The doctor can’t really do anything to mediate because while Tooth was right nearly every time, Jack was still Tadashi’s patient. A more selfish side of himself told him that he also didn’t feel like getting into a fight with either of them, and a more twisted side told him that he just liked seeing Jack pout – it was something about how Jack jutted his lower lip out just enough to—

Tadashi always shook thoughts like that off in favor of burying his attention in paperwork.

\- - -

“Well, Jack, it looks like you’re well enough to go home. I’ll write you a prescription for pain medication but you’ll need to make sure to get lots of rest and drink plenty of fluids,” Tadashi explains on the third day of Jack’s admission after surgery. “Nurse Bailey will be by to give you the discharge papers and I’ve asked him to give you my personal number just in case you need to contact me for anything.” Tadashi honestly had to sit and think a good, long while about giving his number to a patient – especially to one who seemed so taken to him. However, Tadashi’s concern won over and he reasoned that it would be more beneficial for Tooth to have his number in case something serious happened to Jack.

Tooth smiles and chimes in with, “That’s sweet of you, Dr. Hamada.”

“Just like to make sure all of my patients are taken care of,” Tadashi replies with a smile of his own.

He accompanies the pair to the main doors when the paperwork is taken care of.

“Please be careful, Jack,” Tadashi says to his patient. “Remember: no strenuous activity.”

“Right, right. No running marathons and all that,” Jack teases with a smirk at Tadashi, who can’t help but chuckle while Tooth sighs in exasperation. Tadashi watches them leave before he decides to get back to work – after all, he is a doctor and he does have other patients to attend to.

\- - -

Living together gets annoying, Tooth gets it. Her and Jack argue and bicker like no other sometimes, but knows that it’s only because they’re stressed and spending way too much time with each other. But this, this is different. Tooth is mainly pissed because Jack didn’t listen to her the first time – which would’ve avoided this entire catastrophe. But she swallows the anger to help her friend get better – which is quickly becoming more troublesome because of Jack’s extreme moods on or off pain killers.

Lately, she just wants to run away screaming.

When Jack finally is waning off of the meds and starts stabilizing, he’s apologizing so much Tooth wonders how he remembers to breathe.

“Jack,” Toothiana says. “It’s okay. I don’t mind.” But Jack can see that she does. He sees the way she twitches just slightly, or hesitates to respond to something as if she’s taking a moment to bury something unwanted. It makes Jack feel guilty, makes him try to be more helpful. It only sometimes works, though.

Lately, Jack has taken to calling Dr. Hamada. It started as something just update Tadashi on his condition, or to ask a question or two, but lately Jack has been doing it because he feels like he just wants to hear Tadashi’s voice. He’s lonely, Jack realizes with a start and then figures that it’s just as well since he and Tooth have started growing increasingly distant.

“Jack?” a voice rings from over the phone pressed against his ear. Jack starts at the realization that he’s been asked a question – and doesn’t even know what it is.

“Sorry?”

“I asked; how’ve you been feeling?” Tadashi repeats patiently.

“Hmm… Less like hell and more like my usual self every day. You’re a miracle worker, doc.” Jack smiles despite himself when he hears Tadashi give a laugh.

“Just doing my job. I’m glad you’re feeling better, Jack,” Dr. Hamada says warmly. Jack can make out the slight sound of a pen scribbling on paper in the background and he bites his lip for half a second.

“Listen, I have a lot of paperwork I need to finish this evening, so I’m afraid I’ll have to say goodbye. But please give me a call back if anything else happens, won’t you?”

“Sure, I understand,” Jack says. “Have fun with your mountains of paperwork.”

“I’ll try,” Tadashi replies, and Jack can hear him smiling, which puts something in the back of his mind at ease.

“Goodnight, doctor.”

“Goodnight, Jack.”

After, Jack buries his phone under his pillows and leaves it there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The whole "fight me" thing was from a post on Tumblr that I really couldn't ignore


	4. Falling Apart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which things become problematic at home and death is always unavoidable

"I need 20cc of insulin,  _now_!" Tadashi's voice rings out, slightly hoarse from all the yelling he's been doing, coupled with tons of smoke and dust. His face and clothes are caked in dirt, but he's relieved to see a few other personnel rush over with the insulin, helping to administer it. "Hang on ma'am, we'll get you taken care of."

"Thank you," the woman whispers as she's wheeled into the back of an ambulance. Tadashi takes a moment to catch his breath, looking out at all the commotion before rushing back into the thick of everything – that is, a collapsed apartment building that was crushed when a crane fell onto it. Staff from the surrounding hospitals had been pulled to aid with rescue and basic on-sight treatment, while every spare ambulance was being used to take patients to said hospitals. The air, Tadashi had noted when he arrived on scene, is thick with smoke and dirt atop yelling and other noise, and the doctor is still surprised that there hasn't been a gas leak. Then again, he figures that there very well could be one, but no one has noticed it yet due to the crisis at hand.

Tadashi is wiggling back into what would have been a basement parking lot to help with additional search and rescue when he hears very faint sobbing, nearly missing it completely because of how focused he is on trying to sort through all the noise in his head.

"Hello?" Tadashi calls, freezing in place and he's straining to hear above the noises of saws, yelling, and the rubble still settling. " _Hello?_ "

"Help me! Please, god,  _help me_!" Comes a voice in reply that sounds like it's coming from slightly below him. Tadashi jumps into action without a second thought, calling out a series of, "Hello," "Where are you?" and "Please, keep talking!" He eventually finds a small opening through which the person's voice seems to be leaking through, leaning down to try and see through it.

"I'm down here! Help me, please! I can't— get free!"

"Okay, I understand. Hang on, I'm going to get someone to help me get you out." Tadashi turns from the debris to a group of EMTs nearby, hollering to get their attention. "There's someone down there! We  _have_ to help them!"

With the help of others, Tadashi is able to make the opening wide enough for each person to squeeze through one by one. The group is lead to a space big enough for a car to sit in, with Tadashi leading. There, they find a woman on her back, leg trapped under a concreate beam.

"Ohmygod thank you! Please! I'm trapped!" the woman cries when she sees them, and Tadashi gets down next to her, smiling warmly despite the obviously dangerous situation.

"Ma'am, my name is Dr. Hamada, and we're here to help you. Now, can you tell me your name?"

Meanwhile, Jack is leaning against the counter as Tooth is flitting around the house in a fit of reserved anger, throwing her things into boxes and big, black garbage bags.

"Tooth, would you please  _listen_  to me?" Jack asks as she's storming into the kitchen and suddenly looking around as if she had forgotten why she was there. Instead of focusing on the thing, she turns and hisses at Jack, " _No._  I've had  _enough_ , Jack! Not only am I  _not_ your mother," Jack visibly winces at the statement and Tooth would've felt guilty for striking that chord if she wasn't so riled up. "But I'm sick of you telling me what  _you_ think is good for me.  _You_ , who doesn't even listen to me when you're nearly on your deathbed!"

"Okay, look, I've said sorry for that! But please don't leave!" Jack defends. "This guy – he's not good for you, Tooth!"

Tooth makes a point of ignoring Jack by brushing past him and dumping an armload of cookbooks into a box next to the door.

Jack tries again, in a slightly bitter tone. "And I've never thought of you as my  _mother_ , you're more like-"

"I don't care anymore, Jack," Tooth huffs, cutting him off. She drops two bags by the box and says, "I just… I need to get away, okay? I'm moving in with Pitch – I need to get out of here. Us constantly bickering and me supporting both of us while you're recovering… All this stress is going to kill me or turn me gray before I hit thirty. I just… I  _can't_ anymore, Jack."

Jack is silent as he considers Tooth's argument, still extremely testy over the fact that she's with  _Pitch_ of all people and that she's choosing to run to a guy she's barely known for a month instead of trying to work things out with her  _best friend_ for  _five years_. He folds his arms as he watches her from the kitchen, moving to at least try to help her take her things to the curb where a taxi is waiting, but Tooth is having none of it.

"It's the least I can do for causing you so much  _stress_ ," Jack quips acidly. Tooth curtly counters his venom with, "The last thing I need is for you to break anything. Forward my mail to Pitch's, okay?"

Tooth climbs into the cab but before she can close the door, Jack grasps it tightly and leans down to look at her.

"Just… Please be careful." Despite every argument and stricken chord, Jack still sees Tooth as one of the best sisters in the world, and loves her like one. He can't help but to ask her to be careful, because Jack would honestly hate himself if anything had happened to her because of him.

"I'll be fine," Tooth says coldly, pulling the door shut with a slam when he lets go and leans back. Jack watches from the curb in his untied sneakers until the taxi is gone and then some.

Later on, Jack trashes his now nearly empty apartment, curls up on the floor, and cries harder than he feels he's ever cried in his life. He eventually falls asleep, though, exhausted by the fighting and the crying. His cellphone history shows nothing but "Tadashi" with little blue arrows indicating outgoing calls.

Tadashi, however, is sitting just inside the hall from the ambulance bay. Tirelessly, his mind reels over the past few hours and his own voice in his head is echoing loudly; his promise to his patient that he'd save her, the secondary collapse of the basement and asking if she's alright, and the eventual ultimatum – amputation or death. Even with his head in his hands, Tadashi can still feel the weight of the woman's hand in his, her smile as the ambulance raced to the hospital and towards the promise of healing.

The doctor cries silently as he recalls how hearing the heart monitor start going crazy and the eventual, deathly sound of a flat line had cut sharply into that promise, ending the young woman's life swiftly

"A pulmonary fat embolism," Tadashi remembers telling the young, confused EMT when he calls time of death. "There wasn't a damn thing we could've done to save her."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took much less time to redo than I anticipated so... Yeah. 
> 
> Also, for anyone wondering:
> 
> A fat embolism is a disruption to blood supply caused by fat globules in a blood vessel. They are common in people who have suffered major medical traumas such as fractures of long bones, soft tissue trauma, and burns. In the case of a pulmonary fat embolism, death is sudden due to widespread obstruction.


	5. "Doctoring" Isn't A Word, Is It?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Tadashi realizes that Jack is still very much his patient, and it’s his duty to make sure his patient is taken care of – low sense of morality be damned

Tadashi finds the calls the next morning, when his eyes are still bleary from tears and his usual upbeatedness low and in a slump. All he wants is to crawl back in bed and lament over his lost patient – empty promises still ringing in his ears from the night before. However, Jack is also his patient, and Tadashi absolutely cannot fathom leaving another poor soul. So he gets over himself and gets dressed.

Tadashi is able to pull Jack’s address from a file quickly, and is slightly distressed at the fact that he hardly knows that part of town. But he goes anyway, makes it to the apartment building and all the way on the fifth floor, unit 3E. He’s slightly taken aback when, after several ignored knocks, he tries the door handle and finds it completely unlocked. Not even a chain on the door if there was one.

“Jack?” Tadashi calls, noticing that the apartment looks like it’s been ransacked. He walks forward and hears a soft groan from the general direction of the living room, heart beat picking up in slight panic. Tadashi tries again, “Jack?”

This time, there’s more of a response and Tadashi is able to find Jack still curled in the middle of the floor. His phone is dead. Tadashi hauls Jack into a sitting position, Jack rubbing his eyes, and takes in his appearance – Jack looks like hell, eyes ringed with red and dark bags under them. The only thing that stops Tadashi from asking what happened is the fact that the moment Jack takes in the apartment in the light of day and Tadashi sitting in front of him looking for all the world worried, Jack bursts into tears and Tadashi has a hard time trying to understand him anyway.

The kindly doctor has a hell of a time getting Jack to his bed due to the fact that Jack has completely leeched onto Tadashi and will not let go. So Tadashi is forced to sit on the bed with the sobbing young man in his arms. It’s only then that Tadashi really takes in how empty everything looks and how blaringly loud the quiet is. He wonders briefly where Tooth has gone – he’s sure she would’ve caused an uproar at the sight of their shared home – when it hits Tadashi that maybe that’s the reason for all the distress. Tooth left. He can’t fathom why or how, but supposes that’s a story for another time when Jack isn’t so upset and neither is he.

So Tadashi reaches over and grabs tissues off the nightstand, letting Jack take them and wipe his eyes and blow his nose. He says, “Jack, it’s probably in your best interest to get some proper rest.”

“A lot of stuff is probably in my best interest,” Jack retorts with a tired look in his eyes and Tadashi thinks he’s referring to something Tooth probably said to him. But he tosses away the used tissues and crawls under the covers because the look Tadashi gives him makes his stubbornness wither away. Then when Tadashi returns with a glass of water and some Ibuprofen, Jack is already asleep. It’s all Tadashi can do to brush Jack’s bangs unstuck from his forehead and return to the living room, where he curses life silently when his phone beeps with a message from the head of medicine for their hospital, Dr. Aiko Miyazaki, for him to stay out of work for the day. Coming from the big boss herself, Tadashi can’t say no.

\--- ---- ----

Later, when Tadashi has cleaned Jack’s apartment because he can’t find anything else to do with himself, Jack comes out in an oversized tee and hair damp from a shower.

“Why did you clean the apartment?” Jack asks, voice quiet and eyes still rimmed red and puffy – he’s been crying again. Tadashi takes careful note of how Jack detachedly refers to his apartment now.

“Because you obviously weren’t well enough to,” Tadashi says, but he tries to make it sound like he’s joking. His effort is rewarded with a smile from Jack – though Tadashi is worried about how bad the pale pink lips crack. It looks painful.

“I thought you’d be off doctoring.”

“Is that even a word? I’m pretty sure that’s not a word,” Tadashi says instead. “And I’m pretty sure that’s what I’m doing now…”

“Where were you?” Jack asks at the same time Tadashi asks, “What happened?”

They both try to pretend that the silence following isn’t suffocating them, and Tadashi silently wonders why Jack was still so insistent on reaching out to Tadashi instead of a loved one or friend – a friend he’s known longer than a couple months and hasn’t been treating his illnesses. Jack speaks first.

“Tooth… Left. She was tired of putting up with me, and she left. Moved in with some guy who’s… Not good for her.” The amount of bitterness in Jack’s voice shouldn’t have been affecting Tadashi nearly as much as it should have, but Tadashi wouldn’t fight an accusation because in all honesty, he was tired. Apparently, Jack was too as he didn’t follow up with any sort of snide comment. Either that or he still respected Tooth a great deal – he suspected it was both.

“There was a building collapse,” Tadashi said after Jack was finished. “A crane working on a building across the way fell on top of it.” He’s about to say something else when there’s a knock on the door and he sees hope flicker in Jack’s eyes for the briefest of moments – color bursting in and contrasting against his white hair and then it’s dulled again when he remembers what Tooth had said. Tadashi, instead of taking pity on Jack because he’s sure that’s the exact opposite of what Jack wants, answers the door. He sees Jack’s surprised look when he returns to the living room with takeout.

“Seriously?”

And all Tadashi replies with is, “It’s my job as your doctor to ensure you’re taken care of, and I’m more than certain you haven’t eaten since yesterday.” Since Jack’s stomach growls loudly, he can’t very well get moody at Tadashi and tell him that he could have fed himself. So he settles for shoveling food into his mouth until the growling dies out.

“I’m sorry,” Jack says after he’s had his fill and Tadashi swallows the chewed noodles in his mouth. “Why?”

“Because I’m a mess.” The look Jack gives him when as he says that makes Tadashi wonder how many sides of Jack there really is.

“Everyone has to be a mess some time in their lives,” Tadashi points out and is surprised to see Jack exasperated.

“You take your job too seriously, you know?”

“Is it a crime now that people care about one another?” Its obvious Jack wasn’t expecting the counter because he snaps his jaw shut, but the look in his eyes tells him that on some level he knew Tadashi would say that.

“That’s so like you,” Jack says eventually. “What happened when the building collapsed?”

“All the doctors and nurses in the nearby areas were all called out to provide medical support. Myself included.”

“What _really_ happened?” And Tadashi is startled to feel cold when Jack pins him with just his gaze as if he suddenly _knows_. Tadashi’s eyes dart around before he feels up to talking about it.

“You’re a mess, too, then.”

“Everyone has to be a mess some time in their lives,” Tadashi repeats.

“Yeah, but I’ve never killed an—“ Jack shuts up then and Tadashi drops his fork into his takeout box, sighing. “That was stupid… I’m sorry.” The quietness at which Jack speaks in makes Tadashi believe he’s genuinely sorry about it, but Tadashi remembers all the lessons about losing patients from his mentors and isn’t too upset about it. Death is inevitable.

“I should leave,” Tadashi says, though, and stands. Jack bites his lip and trails Tadashi to the kitchen.

“You should stay,” Jack insists quietly when Tadashi turns to grab his keys off the counter. Tadashi isn’t too startled at how cold Jack’s hand is on his. “Please.”

“Jack, don’t.” But Jack is. He’s leaning forward to kiss Tadashi and Tadashi is letting him, but only this one kiss if his hand tight on Jack’s arm is anything to go by. “Don’t do this, Jack.”

Tadashi’s breath on his lips makes Jack shiver. “Why not?”

“You’re my _patient_.” The way Tadashi doesn’t even skip a beat in his reply makes Jack bitter beyond reason, like Tadashi has had to say that line so many times. Jack has the urge to spite every other person Tadashi has had to say that to, and he doesn’t doubt that the list would be at least as long as his arm. Jack sinks back down so his feet are flat on the ground but Tadashi can still see the fire in the ice of Jack’s eyes. He trusts Jack enough to release his arm but also releases his keys back on the counter because he doesn’t want to fight right now.

“I’ll sleep on the couch – but I just want to make sure you’re okay,” Tadashi says in response to Jack’s face suddenly lighting up hopefully.

He only hopes he hasn’t made a mistake as he follows Jack back into the living room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm getting around to the chapters that have been more recent and therefore don't need a whole lot of editing - so there might be a huge wave of incoming chapters. sorrynotsorry


	6. Suffering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which an entire hospital suffers a loss and Jack wants just one chance

Jack smells food before he’s actually awake, stomach growling loudly and fully waking him up. However, when he goes to investigate the smell all he finds is a plate of eggs and bacon and a note from Tadashi.

“Had to go to work,” Jack reads while eating the food. “Be goo- How old does he think I am?”

After, Jack attempts to tidy up the house but finds that Tadashi did a good job yesterday while he was sleeping. He even folded the blanket he had used last night and returned it back to the back of the couch when he left this morning. Jack sits with one leg folded under him, holding the pillow Tadashi slept on while he attempts to reach him on his phone. No answer. Jack is nervous to leave a voicemail so he just hangs up.

‘ _You’re my patient._ ’ The words keep ringing loudly in the back of Jack’s mind, making him discard the pillow by throwing it at the wall. It doesn’t help anything, nor does it make him feel any better.

“Stupid doctoring business…” Jack mutters to himself.

\---

Tadashi has his hands full at work – literally. In the ER, Tadashi is scared as he works with the other doctors and nurses to save the life of their patient on the table. Their very beloved patient. Tadashi is sure that the other people in the room are just as nervous if not more so. A car accident, the EMT had told them. A nasty, five-car pileup on the freeway that resulted in nearly all five cars totaled and so much debris left over. The other patients had to be transported to other hospitals and the freeway shut down in both directions for a span of an entire mile.

There is so much blood. Tadashi has never felt sick at the sight of blood before now. And despite every fiber in his being wishing the opposite, his trained doctor’s instinct tells him that his friend won’t make it out of the ER today.

\---

“The San Fransokyo Medical Center has suffered a terrible loss today,” Jack hears from the TV as he washes the few dishes in the sink. At the mention of the hospital Tadashi works at, Jack sets down the silverware and dries his hands on a dish towel. There’s a tall, blonde woman on the screen. She has pink glasses, a headband, and a signature white coat over a nice looking pastel pink blouse. She looks somber. Jack’s gaze instantly flicks to his silent cellphone and back to the TV.

“As we know, there was a major car accident on the freeway this morning-“ Jack is confused, because the way to the hospital from the apartment doesn’t include taking the freeway. “One of our own nurses, Bailey Maxwell was also involved in the accident.” An image of the kindly nurse flashes into Jack’s mind.

“We did everything we could…” the woman says, dabbing the corners her eyes with a tissue. “Nurse Bailey passed away this morning at 11:34 a.m.” There’s a flurry of shocked voices and gasps from the crowd on the television and Jack tunes them out. Clicks off the TV entirely just to sit in his empty apartment alone, thinking of how cruel everything was. How could such a wonderful person be ripped away like that?

Later, Jack would get dressed and take the bus to the hospital. He notices how broken the staff looks and seeks out Dr. Hamada. A security guard takes him up to the ER ward since the nurses are avoiding it like the plague. Another doctor takes him to Tadashi, the look on his face telling him that in light of events transpired, this is the only reason Jack is being admitted back.

Tadashi looks like hell. He’s still in the scrubs he wore into the operating room and sitting on a bench in the locker room. He looks like he hates himself.

“I heard about what happened…” Jack starts, standing awkwardly in front of Tadashi, who looks up at him.

“Why are you here, Jack?”

“I- don’t know. You need a friend.” It isn’t a question and Tadashi wants to question Jack’s motives since last night… But the dullness in Jack’s eyes tell him that he probably isn’t here to get into Tadashi’s pants. Instead, Tadashi stands and nearly falls into Jack. Jack expects it, holding onto Tadashi tightly and lets him fall apart in his arms, sinking to their knees on the floor of the locker room.

\---

Jack accompanies Tadashi to the memorial and funeral. He can see how torn up Tadashi becomes, stays by his side through everything, and doesn’t bring up his want to be with the doctor. Not once. Jack has to go back to work when Tadashi takes his brother, Hiro, to help Bailey’s wife clean up their garage of Bailey’s robotic things.

“He was studying to become a robotics engineer… He was nearly there,” his wife says, and Tadashi nods and says something in a polite tone. “He was working on something to help kids as a semester end project before graduation. He was always saying how it broke his heart how kids were so terrified of going to the doctor and if he could just make something that would put their little minds at ease…”That when Hiro exclaims something and Tadashi finds that he has found the project Bailey’s wife had been talking about. Knowing how brilliant Hiro and Tadashi were, she smiles and says with teary eyes, “Why don’t you finish it?”

That’s how Hiro and Tadashi end up in their Aunt Cass’s garage, blueprints and robot parts everywhere just like old times.

“Hey Tadashi, remember when we made hover boots for Mochi?” Tadashi can’t help but laugh at the memory as he sorts through everything with his brother.

\---

There’s a dramatic lull between the time spent between Jack and Tadashi. Jack is back and busy with his dead-end job and Tadashi is bouncing between his own career and helping Hiro finish Bailey’s last project, so Jack doesn’t really have time to pester Tadashi. That hasn’t stopped him from thinking about the handsome doctor, though. Or their kiss in the kitchen, which, Jack thinks sadly, Tadashi is probably a little miffed over.

So when Tadashi rolls over and answers the phone with his voice thick with sleep one night some weeks later, he doesn’t expect Jack to be on the other end.

“Hey,” is all Jack has to say and Tadashi is wide awake.

“It’s… two in the morning, Jack.”

“Look at that…” Jack says, not sounding surprised. Tadashi has half a mind to snap the phone shut and go back to sleep.

“Will you meet me for dinner tomorrow night?” The question makes Tadashi want to groan.

“No,” he says instead.

“But-“

“You’re my-“

“Patient. I know. Would you stop with that?” Jack says, irritated and Tadashi hears the tiredness of working late in Jack’s voice. “I’m not your patient anymore.”

“You always will be, Jack.”

“You- I hate that will you stop!” Whatever else Tadashi was going to say dies on his lips at Jack’s tone.

Jack sighs. “I’ve tried not doing this, okay? And it kind of makes me feel guilty for bothering you so much but… Obviously I really like you. I just want one night for us to go to dinner, drop all of this patient-doctor business and… Start again? Pretend it’s the first date or something,” Tadashi has to bite his lip because Jack is getting nervous enough to start rambling and it’s slightly endearing. “And if after you decide that me as a person isn’t much to your liking, then I’ll stop. I promise. I’ll only ever bother you again if it’s an emergency or if I happen to come in and get you as a doctor – I won’t even ask—“

“Okay, Jack.”

“—for you… Wait, what?” Jack’s heart nearly stops. Tadashi somehow manages to keep from laughing.

“I said, okay. One night. I’ll forget I was your doctor and you’ll forget you were my patient and we’ll do dinner,” Tadashi says because he’s tired, and because Jack just sounds so desperate, and because maybe Tadashi is just too much of a nice guy and maybe Jack is just too endearing for his own good.

“One condition though – I get to choose the place.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feels now on sale for the low price of 1 bottle of your tears!


	7. Shockwave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which shock comes in two forms

“Hot date?” Tadashi looks up in the mirror at Hiro sitting on his bed, sighing as he fixes his tie.

“Something like that,” Tadashi says because despite everything, Jack really _is_ cute and he is looking forward to having a quiet night out. His eyes glare at Hiro when he laughs, no, _giggles_. The doctor’s face softens and his lips curl into a smile because he can’t help it – Hiro’s laughter has always been a weakness. “Is it with Jack?”

Tadashi stiffens and he sees Hiro smirk. “Aren’t you supposed to be helping Aunt Cass in the café?” Hiro’s face falls and he runs off, yelling, “You suck!”

Tadashi laughs when he hears the door slam shut and he whistles a tune softly to himself.

\- - -                                                

Jack’s knee is bouncing anxiously under the table and he’s drumming his fingers on the table. _Where is Tadashi?_ Jack is just about to check his phone again when he feels something brush his shoulder and suddenly Tadashi is sitting down across from him. “You’re late,” Jack says.

“Five minutes – there was traffic.”

“Twenty minutes – it’s nearly nine.”

“Is it? Sorry, I’ve been sleep deprived since being woken up at two in the morning.”

“ _A week ago_ ,” Jack hissed softly. Tadashi just grins as he picks up his menu and looks it over. “I really am sorry.” Tadashi peeks sheepishly over the menu and suddenly Jack can’t be angry.

“Just figure out what you want,” Jack says, but there’s a smile on his lips.

Later, when they order and are sipping their drinks, Jack apologizes.

“What for?” Tadashi asks, and Jack says, “For pestering you.”

Tadashi laughs and tells him, “A touch bit late for that, isn’t it?” Jack ducks his head apologetically. Tadashi doesn’t have time to tell Jack not to worry because their food arrives, so he just smiles softly at Jack around the waiter.

The food is good, and Tadashi makes Jack laugh with stories of Hiro getting into mischief. They talk about their lives to each other as if they were perfect strangers, and Jack pretends to be intrigued at the “sudden” knowledge of Tadashi being a doctor, while Tadashi expresses genuine concern over Jack recounting his recent lack of a roommate. When they’re nearly done, Jack notices a sudden change in Tadashi’s interest and casually follows his line of sight to an older gentleman loosening his neck tie. Jack almost thinks it’s because Tadashi has a thing for older guys, but Tadashi has this _look_ and it takes Jack a few minutes to realize that it’s a _doctoring look_. Jack looks again, and the guy looks fine… A little fidgety and sweaty but Jack brushes it off as maybe the guy has to pee. It does feel a bit warm in the restaurant.

“So anyway…” Jack says, trying to bring Tadashi back on subject. And it works… Sort of.

“Hiro had found this, uh, possum in the backyard shed…” Tadashi says, and Jack can tell he’s trying to focus. “What’s with the sudden interest?” Jack asks instead.

Tadashi blinks and shakes his head. “It’s-“

“Not nothing, otherwise you wouldn’t be so distracted,” Jack points out, forgetting that they were supposed to not recognize each other’s looks. He doesn’t think Tadashi would might on account of not paying attention.

“I-” Tadashi doesn’t finish his sentence on account of him bolting from his chair the second Jack hears a huge crash from where the other guy was sitting. Jack follows Tadashi a few tables over, where the gentleman had apparently tried to walk to the restroom but fell and took a tablecloth full of dishes with him. A woman who Jack assumes to be his wife is next to Tadashi on the floor freaking out, and suddenly Jack is on autopilot as he kneels to console the woman because Tadashi could use all the focus he can get right now.

“Ma’am, it’s going to be okay,” Jack says, internally panicking because the guy’s lips are _blue_. She screeches something about the audacity of Jack saying that and he counters with, “My friend is a doctor. Your husband is going to be fine.”

Tadashi is performing CPR and Jack sees the hope flicker in her eyes. As he’s saving the guy’s life, Tadashi starts firing questions towards the anxious wife.

“What happened?”

“I- I don’t know! We were eating and then he started complaining that it was getting warm. I asked h-him if he’d taken his medicine – he always forgets his medicine and I always have to remind him – and he was starting to mumble something about leaving the lights in the car on – and it didn’t make sense-“

“What did he eat?”

“I-“

“Ma’am, what did he _eat_?”

“I- He ate- Oh god, I don’t-“

Jack sets a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. “Breathe. Try to remember.” There are waiters pushing back onlookers, some of them who are their phones presumably contacting 911.

The woman nods and breathes. “He- ate soup. Mushroom-” She stops suddenly and puts a hand over her mouth and Jack helps her up when she scrambles. Tadashi is yelling something about a rash and the wife is back with her purse and digging through it, tears coming in waves now because suddenly she knows and Jack gets it, too, when she shoves a tube with a yellow label on it into Tadashi’s hands.

Everything is going faster now. Jack is helping Tadashi prop up the man’s legs after administering epinephrine and Tadashi has one hand practically glued to the guy’s wrist. The wife is holding onto her husband’s other hand for dear life. It’s only after the paramedics are wheeling him away – now conscious, thankfully, and trying to console his sobbing wife – and a look at a nearby abandoned table of food that Jack puts the pieces together.

“It wasn’t mushroom, was it?” Jack asks Tadashi in the parking lot, when the doctor is looking tired but still handsome as hell with his sleeves rolled up and jacket folded around over his arm. Tadashi sighs and smiles at Jack, shakes his head. “No, it wasn’t.”

“Someone’s getting fired…” Jack hums, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Tadashi says, “Lucky if they’re not sued.”

“In his defense,” Jack sighs. “Being a waiter is hell. Worse if you’re in a high-end place like this. I wouldn’t be surprised if the kid was sleep deprived.”

“From work and not his pleading boyfriend, right?” Tadashi says jokingly and Jack is laughing with him, and by the time they’re to Tadashi’s car, Jack finally takes notice of the word choice. He’s afraid to ask if it was a metaphor or an implication. “Need a ride home?”

Jack finally snaps out of his stupor, embarrassed when Tadashi has to repeat his question.

“I- sure.”

\- - -

The ride home is stifling for Jack but he suddenly regrets wishing it would go by faster when they’re in the parking lot of his apartment building, though not so much when Tadashi is walking him up.

“ _You’re_ not going into shock, too, are you?” Tadashi asks in the elevator. Jack blinks and looks up at the doctor, managing a stuttered, “No.”

“Did I do something?” Tadashi asks quietly then, tilting his head. Jack panics but says, “No, no you didn’t do anything. Well, you did – _more_ than enough. Shit, you saved a guy’s _life_ –” Jack sighs and stops, shaking his head.

Tadashi nods and walks forward when the elevator dings and the doors slide open. Jack walks with him.

“Thanks for calming his wife down,” Tadashi says suddenly. “It made things a lot easier.”

“I... Yeah, no problem. I mean, I get that it’s hard enough without a harpy leering over you expecting the answer to life itself, so…”

“She had a right to be upset. I mean, it if was my husband, I’d be expecting the answer to life, too.”

They’re at Jack’s door now, and Tadashi has his hands in his pockets, sleeves still rolled up. His tie is gone, top buttons undone, and the only thing Jack can think about is how much he’d like to climb him like a damn _tree_. Sue him.

But Jack just nods, mechanically unlocking his door and opening it. He takes two steps inside and turns around to Tadashi. “Thanks for taking me home. I guess you’d like to go home and sleep… Gotta get up early, right? Doctoring business and stuff…”

Tadashi nods this time. “I do have to get up early,” he says. Jack nods again.

“Right… So… I guess I might see you if I have another major surgery then, right? You don’t mind if I keep your number, do you? Tonight proved it’s handy to know a doctor but I promise I won’t-“

And then Jack literally _cannot_ breathe. Of course, that might be due to the fact that Tadashi’s lips were pressed against his, but. Whatever.

“I was actually hoping I’d see you sooner,” Tadashi says against Jack’s lips, and they’re _tingling_ and Jack is suddenly light-headed. He’s standing upright _way_ before Jack wants him to but what he says after is almost worth it. And when Jack closes the door, back pressing against it while his fingers dance across his lips, he’s blushing like he’s never blushed before. He feels like a damn _schoolgirl_.

His blush only gets worse when 20 minutes later his phone buzzes with a message from Tadashi.

_See you tomorrow ;)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiro is a little shit pass it on


	8. Getting Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Jack finds out what Tooth has been up to and suspects there might be invisible people living in his apartment

Jack hears the alarm roughly ten minutes after it goes off, and finally hits the snooze button three minutes after that. Tadashi knows this – he not only hears Jack’s grumbles from the kitchen, but he’s been watching the clock every morning for the past three months, too. And this morning isn’t an exception.

“Do you have to do that perfect, Hollywood morning thing every day?” Jack asks sluggishly, rubbing his eyes as he hauls himself onto a bar stool next to Tadashi. The doctor is already laughing when Jack leans heavily on his shoulder, nearly half asleep.

“Hollywood morning thing?” Tadashi asks, taking a drink of his orange juice. Jack nods and says, “Newspaper. Healthy breakfast. And you’re already showered and dressed…”

“I like reading.”

“Read a book,” Jack quips back, but he’s grinning like a fool against Tadashi’s neck. Oh _Jesus_ Tadashi smells heavenly after a shower, and it’s really all Jack can think about at the moment. He doesn’t see Tadashi grinning in response.

“No hickeys,” he warns. “I have a meeting this morning.”

Tadashi hears Jack breath out a soft, “ _Damn_ ,” and Jack sits up to pick off of Tadashi’s plate while Tadashi coughs a couple times into a napkin and clears his throat. If Jack were awake enough, he’d tease Tadashi about how doctors aren’t supposed to get sick.

“Hey Jack?”

“Mmm?”

“What time are you supposed to be at work?” Tadashi asks without looking up from his paper. Though, he does hear the soft screech of wood against wood and Jack hurry off because he’s going to be late _again_.

\- - -

Later, when Jack has an hours or so to kill before heading back to work, he runs into Tooth – of all people – at the post office and, at first, he just stands there. She cocks her head, fiddling with a bracelet absently as she looks at Jack. It’s the patience that throws Jack off. He hasn’t seen Tooth look so patient in… Well, its’ been almost four months since she walked out, so at least four months.

“Tooth… You… Look great!” Jack says, because it’s the only thing that he can think of. And it’s true.

Tooth smiles. “So do you. How’ve you been, Jack?” She takes his arm and leads him to the line at the counter – where he was heading originally, and apparently her, too.

“Good. Great, actually. Tadashi and I-“

“Oh I _knew_ it!!” Tooth squeaks with a grin, clapping her hands together. Jack gives a small laugh, saying, “You know, I could’ve said that we started working together…”

“Oh _please_ , Jack. I know you better than that. Besides – med school? In four months?”

“What can I say, I’m just that awesome. All hard working and stuff.” Jack’s grin is all teeth and Tooth laughs lightly like Jack hasn’t heard her do in a long while.

“Sure… So what brings you here?”

Jack holds up the small box in his hands. “Present for Pippa. You?

“Some things Gogo wanted me to send out since I was on this side of town.”

“Gogo? I thought you were kidding when you said you were becoming a pimp,” Jack says with a smirk.

“Bite me. Her real name is Leiko, but everyone calls her Gogo. Its-“

“An inside joke. Got it.” Jack nods and Tooth smiles in that way that causes Jack to say, “What?”

“Oh, nothing.” Tooth says this quickly, turning her head away even though her smile doesn’t even falter.

“Seriously, Tooth. _What_?” Jack is becoming suspicious, but he knows Tooth all too well. Knows that look in her eye – and it spells trouble.

“ _Nothing_. Really, Jack.” Jack has to drop it because it’s his turn in line, and by the time Tooth gets to the counter, Jack has to leave. He promises to call Tooth later, though, and gets that suspicious feeling again when she just giggles and says, “Sure.”

\---

Jack plops face first on the couch when he gets back to Tadashi’s apartment, the mail that he’s collected from his own home scattering on the floor, and lets out a muffle groan into the cushions. Tadashi looks up from his book, shifting in the armchair he’s sitting in. He doesn’t bother to push his reading glasses up.

“Rough day? I was wondering why I had gotten home before you…”

“Nugghhhhhh.” Is the only reply before Jack turns his head and peers at Tadashi from across the coffee table. “You are _so hot_ in glasses.”

Tadashi huffs a laugh, unfurling his legs from under him and closing the book he’s reading. Jack is almost seventy percent sure it’s some geeky sci-fi book but quickly disregards the thought when Tadashi sits on the only empty cushion next to Jack’s head. Jack nearly purrs when Tadashi’s fingers push themselves through Jack’s white hair, massaging his scalp and Jack crawls forward to lay in Tadashi’s lap. By this time, Tadashi has fixed his glasses to sit properly on the bridge of his nose and is smiling down at Jack. He still can’t believe that they’ve only been together a few months when it feels like a lot longer. While Tadashi doesn’t want to admit it, he silently is thankful that Jack kept pestering all that time ago.

However, in this moment, Tadashi is marveling over how soft Jack’s hair is. He asks, “You sure your hair isn’t snow?” Jack only laughs and sits up, crawling over to make himself comfy in Tadashi’s lap.

“I got called back in an hour after work, had to pick up someone else’s shift on top of that… Yeah. Is this what it’s like being a doctor?”

“Truthfully? Yes. But it’s more like picking up ghost shifts because the patients need it.” Tadashi says this into Jack’s hair, letting the spikes run between his fingers. “It’s stressful, but worth it.”

“Mmm,” Jack hums, head resting under Tadashi’s and suddenly he’s smirking and tilting his head up to let his teeth graze Tadashi’s jaw. “Well if you’re still stressed-“

“Please tell me you’re not going to start making out.” The voice startles Jack, which makes Tadashi jump slightly, too and silently be thankful that Jack didn’t accidentally nip him too hard.

“Who the _hell_?!”

“Jack, calm down- it’s okay,” Tadashi says, wrangling Jack from jumping up. “It’s just Gogo, who I’ve told constantly to at least _knock first_.” Gogo shrugs and pops her gum bubble at the same time that Jack goes still. He _knows_ that name…

“She doesn’t happen to have a girlfriend with blue hair, does she?” Jack asks.

“Yes, she does,” says a very familiar voice that Jack has come to associate with Tooth, who walks into the living room with a smile and plops down next to Tadashi and Jack like it’s the most natural thing in the world. Gogo is laughing at the look on Jack’s face and he can feel Tadashi’s smile on his head.

When he feels like he can function properly again, Jack says, “So… _This_ was the nothing, then.”

“Are you mad?” Tooth asks, blinking and her smile sliding from her face.

“That I was the last one to know what was going on? Sort of. But mostly that I’m getting laughed at for it,” Jack says, his lower lip jutting out playfully. Tooth grins again and rolls her eyes.

Later, much later, actually, Tooth and Gogo leave after hanging out. Tadashi has to carry Gogo downstairs because no matter how well he hides the liquor, she always manages to find it. Jack learns that Tooth and Pitch had a rather nasty break-up not long after she moved out and while he wants to be a smug bastard, he decides against it. However, he is happy about the news that Gogo was actually one to help her collect all of her stuff from Pitch, and promptly asked Tooth out after. Jack notes with a smile how happy the two of them are together.

Now, Jack is finally picking up and sorting through his mail, frowning at the papers as he’s doing mental calculations.

“Something wrong, snowflake?” Tadashi asks when he brings Jack a cup of coffee, sitting on the couch with him. Jack sighs, setting the papers down in his lap and taking a sip.

“I don’t understand how my utilities are this expensive when I’m hardly at my apartment anymore…” It honestly doesn’t make sense, and Jack is at a loss for an explanation other than people he doesn’t know are living there without his knowledge. Even so, he doesn’t think he can keep it up much longer on his own. Without Tooth going half on the bills, it’s been taking a huge toll on Jack’s budget and he’s not very sure how much longer he can manage. If it weren’t for him practically living with Tadashi, Jack probably would’ve been in big trouble. Jack rubs his head, mentally calculating how expensive it would be to break the lease early but it’s hard when Tadashi keeps kissing his neck like _that_.

“Stop stressing,” Tadashi murmurs. Papers scatter back to the floor when Tadashi pulls Jack into his lap and kisses him like he’s starving. “You just saying that so I’ll pay attention?” Jack tosses his shirt to the floor and Tadashi grins against Jack’s clavicle.

“Yes and no. Move in with me?”

Jack tries to explain not wanting to be a burden, but the words die on his lips when Tadashi gets into his pants and nearly tears them off, and suddenly all he can scream is, “ _Yes_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so this wraps up the end of my shpeal on rewriting all previous chapters. From here on, it'll be nothing but new ones and I'm very excited to start really getting into this story c:
> 
> Also, there's probably going to be a smutty chapter next so if you guys don't like that just go ahead and skip most of the chapter. Just not all of it.


	9. Laceration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Okay."

Tadashi glances at a flash of electric blue light coming from the screen of his phone, the small pop up reading that the message he’s gotten is from Jack and-

“Is he wanting to know when you’re going to be home _again_?” Hiro says with a roll of his eyes, pressing a key on his keyboard and a window on his computer screen starts running lines of codes.

“In all fairness,” Tadashi says, “Jack has been looking forward to this night all week. I feel bad for being late.”

“You’re a doctor. You’re always home late.”

“This is _different_ ,” Tadashi says, ruffling Hiro’s hair and laughing when he pulls a face. Tadashi is coughing again into a handkerchief and Hiro asks if he’s okay.

“M’fine, just the weather changing,” Tadashi says with a grin. When the boy’s computer beeps, they both grin like idiots and Tadashi types a quick response of, ‘ _Be home in 20. Promise,’_ to Jack.

\- - -

Jack sighs, drumming his fingers on the counter as he watches the city through the kitchen window. Twenty minutes was an hour ago and by now Jack has put the food in the fridge so it won’t spoil. It hasn’t been the first time he’s had to do this – being intimate with a doctor doesn’t exactly guarantee that said doctor will be home on time, but Jack is slightly miffed because Tadashi is off today and—

“What’re you thinking so hard about, snowflake?” Tadashi’s voice rings in Jack’s ear and he suddenly feels Tadashi’s arms around him. Jack sighs, closing his eyes when the doctor starts kissing his neck.

“You’re _late_ ,” Jack says quietly and he feels Tadashi pause. “Very late.”

“I’m sorry. I really am, Jack.” Tadashi rests his head against Jack’s. “We were finishing the coding… But I promised I would be home in twenty and I wasn’t, especially tonight. I’m sorry.”

“It’s the six month mark of us being together… I haven’t been together with anyone this long,” Jack says carefully. He turns around carefully in Tadashi’s arms and looks up.

“I really am sorry, Jack. Can I make it up to you?” Tadashi asks, eyebrows coming together and he pulls a face akin to a sad puppy dog. Jack can’t help but smile just slightly and all he can say is, “Just get down here and kiss me, you dork. But your repayment had better be damn good.”

Tadashi feels relieved, ducking his head to kiss his boyfriend. They take it slow – neither of them wants to rush things tonight. As they’re shuffling to the bedroom, leaving a trail of clothes in their wake and searing kisses on each other, Jack says in a joking way, “We’re not going to rechristen the table?”

“We eat off that, Jack,” Tadashi murmurs against Jack’s lips.

“You watched me bleach it last time.” Jack can’t say any more because he’s fallen back on their bed, Tadashi climbing on top of him. Jack pulls Tadashi down to kiss him deeply, their tongues dancing and before long they have to break. Jack feels like he’s suffocating and wants more, while Tadashi is happy to oblige.

“The entire place smelled of bleach for nearly a week,” Tadashi says suddenly while he’s brushing his lips against Jack’s neck, looking for another place to leave a hickey. Jack would’ve laughed if not for Tadashi’s teeth on his chest, instead he moans and arches up.

“It was c-clean, wasn’t it?” Tadashi replies to this by teasing Jack’s nipples and smirking when he looks up at Jack.

“ _Fuck_ ,” Jack sighs when Tadashi starts biting a trail down his body. Though, he does kiss over each and every bite mark and his hands caress Jack’s body as if in worship. Jack moans when Tadashi strokes his dick, keening and arching his hips up.

“ _Jesus_ , please Tadashi…” Jack asks his lover, groaning when Tadashi leaves him briefly to get a few things because the contact against Jack’s body has ceased. Once Tadashi has a condom rolled on and they have both been lubed, Tadashi leans over Jack again to kiss him.

“I love you, you know that?”

“Love you too,” Jack says with a lazy smile, reaching up to bring Tadashi down once again so their lips meet and Tadashi takes the opportunity to push into Jack. The doctor pauses for a moment to catch his breath and thread his and Jack’s fingers together – and he grins when Jack smiles – before he moves, building a slow, steady rhythm.

Jack moans Tadashi’s name and in turn, Tadashi moans Jack’s. As Tadashi angles just so to hit Jack’s prostate, their slow rhythm starts to deteriorate into a faster thrusting, and Jack becomes that much more vocal. As sweet of a night Tadashi wants to give Jack, he can’t help but smirk because he loves hearing his lover become so vocal.

“Ah! Fuck, _Jack_ ,” Tadashi moans into Jack’s ear, having to unwrap their fingers so he can use the bed as better leverage. Jack takes to clutching Tadashi’s shoulders, the movement of his own hips completely breaking what Tadashi had set before because he’s so damn _close_ he can’t stand it. Tadashi can’t help but let out a soft chuckle at how undone Jack is becoming, and he certainly can relate. The doctor reaches down to pump Jack, helping him get to that release he looks like he desperately needs.

“Oh _god_ , Ta _dashi_!” Jack cries, orgasm flooding through him and setting his veins on fire. Tadashi gasps at the sudden tightness around his own cock and thrusts a few times more before he comes as well. Panting, Tadashi looks down at Jack and smiles, brushing white bangs out of blue eyes and he leans down to kiss Jack sweetly.

As Jack takes Tadashi’s hand again, Tadashi asks, “How was that for repayment?”

Jack can only smile and say, “Consider your debt repaid.”

\- - -

It’s during a celebration of what would’ve been Bailey’s 43rd birthday that Tadashi and Hiro plan to unveil the project they’ve been finishing. The physician administrator, Dr. Miyazaki, along with a large portion of the staff from San Fransokyo Med Center, a handful of patients Bailey has kept in contact with over the years, his friends and close family, as well as others are there. For now, everyone is walking around and relaxing, in high spirits in honor of their lost friend.

“Jack, this is our physician administrator, Dr. Aiko Miyazaki. Honey Lemon, this is my boyfriend, Jack Frost,” Tadashi says as he introduces them and Jack is slightly confused.

“Honey Lemon?”

“It’s only a nickname, but you can call me by that name if you’d like,” Honey says cheerfully, tucking a lock of blond hair behind her ear. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Jack. Tadashi has told me so much about you.”

“Nice to meet you, too. Though, I can’t say the same about hearing about you,” Jack says with a friendly smile. Honey Lemon pretends to get on Tadashi’s case, sharing a laugh with Jack while Tadashi huffs in good nature. Tadashi introduces Jack to his other friends, Wasabi and Fred, and also to Aunt Cass.

“Ohmy _goodness_ , you _are_ a cutie!” Cass says, hugging Jack tightly as if she hasn’t seen him in _ages_. Jack can’t help but blush at that, but he returns the hug. “You know, Tadashi just can’t stop yammering about you when he comes home to visit.”

“Yeah, he’s a real chatterbox about you,” Hiro jokes, walking up with Tooth and Gogo, and Tadashi elbows him playfully.

“Thanks, I guess?” Jack says awkwardly, rubbing his neck and shrugging. Tooth teases him about being bashful, which makes Jack huff and everyone laughs. After introductions, Jack is able to wander and talk a little more with Tadashi’s friends. He learns that Fred was the one to come up with the nicknames, Wasabi and Honey Lemon went to the same college – her for chemical engineering and him for applied physics.

“Wait, but you’re the hospital’s administrator?” Jack asks.

“I have degrees both for chemical engineering and medicine – as well as medical administration,” Honey Lemon says in response, further explaining her roles and how she’s thinking about going back to chemical engineering.

Wasabi says, “And she juggled her degrees flawlessly,” with a tone of warmth that suggests he’s obviously proud of his friend. Jack also discovers that through Honey Lemon, Tadashi met Fred and Wasabi – who were roommates in their early college years before Fred abandoned school to take up comic book drawing.

“I’m currently working on a few books from DC Comics that they’re going be doing for specials,” Fred says enthusiastically. While Jack shares his enthusiasm – because he’s seen some of the art that Fred has done for several companies and it really is _awesome_ – Tadashi and Hiro are setting up for their big unveiling. Tooth and Gogo are busy chatting with Cass while Honey Lemon and Wasabi are discussing something about particles that Jack couldn’t understand even if he was putting his full attention towards them.

“Ahem, hello? This thing on?” Hiro’s voice booms over the speakers and he winces, apologizing and adjusting the volume and microphone. “There we go, that’s better…

“My name is Hiro Hamada, younger brother of Dr. Tadashi Hamada,” Hiro says, gesturing over at his brother standing across the stage from him with his own microphone in hand. Tadashi waves to everyone. “We’re here today to celebrate a loved one who, unfortunately, could not be here with us today.”

The crowd is now silent, looking up at the stage at the two brothers. Tadashi picks up where Hiro leaves off without missing a beat.

“Bailey Maxwell was one of the most kind, caring people I have ever known. He was dedicated in his work to helping people, even while he wasn’t at work. San Fransokyo Medical Center will never be the same without him, and on behalf of everyone there, I’d like to thank all of you for coming here today.”

“Speaking of today, my brother and I are up here now because of Bailey,” Hiro says. “While everyone knew him as a great nurse, he was also studying to become a robotics engineer. Before he passed, he was working on something to better the medical community.”

Tadashi once again picks up where Hiro leaves off with, “My brother and I, with the blessing of Bailey’s wife, Miss Rachel Maxwell, took it upon ourselves to complete this project in honor of Bailey, knowing that he would want to see his project completed and brought out to help better the world.”

In the crowd, Ms. Maxwell is wiping her eyes, and Tadashi feels an abundance of sympathy for her. He says, “Now, we’ll need a volunteer from the audience.” A little boy of about six is chosen and after he gets up on the stage, Tadashi leans down as asks his name while Hiro fetches a roll of duct tape and a red box, placing the box to one side of them.

“My name is Mikey,” the little boy responds into the microphone, and the audience lets out a few ‘awws’.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mikey,” Tadashi tells him with a smile. “Now, Mikey, why don’t you tell everyone how you feel about going to the doctor’s? Even if it’s just for a checkup?”

“I don’t like it! It’s scary,” Mikey says. “Sometimes I have to get shots or sometimes I have to go because I get hurt. And it’s not fun.”

“I bet not, Mikey. Well, what if I told you that you wouldn’t have to be scared of going to the doctor’s anymore?”

The little boy looks up at Tadashi like he’s just told him that he’s Superman, and says excitedly, “Wow!!”

Tadashi instructs Mikey to stand next to him while he takes the duct tape from Hiro, ripping off a strip. The doctor takes Hiro’s arm and smooths the tape onto his brother’s skin, and suddenly rips it off. It rises a yelp and exclamation of, “ _Ow!_ ” out of Hiro and a gasp from the audience. Suddenly, the red box Hiro had placed down unfolds, and a balloon starts inflating out of it. Only, it’s not a balloon, but a giant, marshmallow-looking person. Hiro walks to stand on the other side of the balloon-person as its finishing airing itself up and it walks forward out of the collapsed box. Mikey is staring wide-eyed at the thing.

“Hello,” the balloon says, holding up his hand and moving it in a small circle. “I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion. I was alerted to the need for medical attention when you said, ‘Ow.’”

The crowd gasps and moves silently forward, watching curiously.

Baymax asks Hiro, “On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?” As he does, a screen on his chest lights up with little faces showing different expressions from being alright to obviously in pain.

Hiro, being a smartass, asks, “Physical? Or emotional?” The crowd laughs and continues as Tadashi pouts. Baymax says, “I will scan you now.” There’s a slight digital sound and even Honey Lemon is looking up at Baymax like he’s the coolest thing she’s seen since sliced bread.

“Scan complete. You have a slight epidermal abrasion on your left forearm. I suggest an antibacterial spray.”

Wanting to show off, Hiro says, “Woah, woah, woah… What’s in the spray specifically?”

“The primary ingredient is: bacitracin.”

Hiro clicks his tongue and snaps his finger, saying, “Bummer. I’m actually allergic to that.”

Baymax coolly counters with, “You are not allergic to: bacitracin. You do have a mild allergy to: peanuts.” The balloon robot holds up his finger and takes Hiro’s hand, gently spraying his forearm with the spray. The audience suddenly breaks out in a roar of applause and Ms. Maxwell is sobbing with a huge smile on her face. Aunt Cass is by her side, consoling her with a smile of her own.

Tadashi smiles down at Mikey and asks, “So, Mikey, do you think if Baymax was at the doctor’s, you wouldn’t be so scared?” Mikey nods enthusiastically, grinning ear to ear. The audience gives another round of applause as Mikey is helped off stage. Hiro and Tadashi then take turns explaining the functions of Baymax, including his basic build. At the end of their presentation, Baymax says to Hiro, “You have been a good boy. Here, have a lollipop.” Hiro takes it and grins, and the audience once again applauds. Once Baymax is deflated back in his box, Hiro and Tadashi join everyone again.

“That was _amazing_!” Honey Lemon says, obviously excited before she starts firing questions at Hiro and Tadashi.

\- - -

Aunt Cass insists on a small celebration back at the Lucky Cat Café, closing the shop for their private party which consists of Tooth, Jack, and Tadashi’s friends. Hiro sets Baymax down next to a booth and joins them.

“To Tadashi and Hiro, who’ll change the future!” Cass toasts, and she’s even letting Hiro drink champagne because to hell with it – it’s a damn special occasion.

“Tadashi and Hiro!” everyone says together, raising their glasses. The two brothers grin at each other.

Cass lets Tadashi cut the cake that she had made for a customer earlier that day – said customer had turned it down because a random change of plans. She’s not very upset over it, though, because now they all get to enjoy it.

“Tadashi! Up here!” Honey Lemon says, grinning as Tadashi looks up and she’s able to snap a quick picture now that she’s able to take them.

“Ouch!” Tadashi bites his lip, managing to not drop the knife and instead drops it gingerly on the counter. Jack gasps softly, setting his glass down and moving forward to take Tadashi’s hands in his own, which is bleeding from a cut on his hand. Cass grabs a rag from behind the counter, quickly handing it over and Jack wraps it around Tadashi’s hand.

“Are you okay? I’m so sorry!” Honey Lemon exclaims, gasping. No one notices Baymax activating.

“Yeah- yeah – _ow_ – I’m fine,” Tadashi says, inhaling softly through his teeth and Jack his holding onto Tadashi’s arms gingerly. “What do you nee-”

“Hello, I am Baymax. Your personal healthcare companion. I heard a sound of distress – what seems to be the problem?”

“Oh- nothing, Baymax. I’m fi-”

“I will scan you now,” Baymax says over Tadashi, and Tadashi tells him not to worry and to deactivate.

“Scan complete. You appear to have laceration on your left hand.” Hiro is trying to push Baymax back, saying, “He’s _fine,_ Baymax. We’re taking care of it. You can-”

“Tadashi is not fine.”

Despite everything, everyone goes still and looks to Baymax. It’s Tadashi that speaks up first, smiling and raising a brow because he swears he had gotten all the bug fixed. Apparently not.

“Of course I’m fine, buddy. It’s just a cut. It’ll heal – I’ll need to wash it first fairly well but-”

“Your laceration is fine, Tadashi. But you are not. My scan shows you have several abnormal growths in your pleural cavity. I suggest an immediate chest x-ray or computerized tomography scan,” Baymax retorts calmly.

“Tadashi? What is he saying?” Jack asks so quietly Tadashi almost doesn’t hear him and when he looks at his boyfriend, Jack looks so scared. Tadashi wants to take him in his arms and tell him that it’s nothing – that Baymax is being ridiculous and Tadashi _never_ wants Jack to look so scared ever again.

“Tadashi?” This mouse-like voice is from Hiro, who’s looking at him with wide eyes and it breaks Tadashi’s heart, especially because Hiro is doing that thing with his sleeves that’s a nervous habit of his and Tadashi can’t take it. He uses one arm to pull Hiro to him and the other to wrap around Jack, hugging his brother and his boyfriend closely to himself.

“Hey you two, listen to me – it’s okay,” Tadashi says to them, clutching the rag in his injured hand so he doesn’t bleed everywhere and he’s ignoring how much it stings because two of the most important people in the world to him are upset.

“It’s okay. It’ll be fine, okay? It’s probably nothing.” But Jack and Hiro are deathly quiet, as are the rest of the people in the room. Not even Mochi is rubbing up against anyone and meowing.

“Tadashi,” Honey Lemon says, setting a hand on his arm and giving him a look that he knows as, _you need to do this, now._ He looks around at everyone, and Tadashi wants to die at the look Aunt Cass has on her face. He can read, _I can’t lose anyone else_ , clear as day in her eyes.

“Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, Baymax. So blissfully oblivious to plight. Also, it's been a while since I've done romantic-ish smut? I'm a little rusty, so apologies all around if its a bit awkward.
> 
> Aaaaaaannd had to change the rating.


	10. Diagnosis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "A mess indeed."

Tadashi really doesn’t know how he feels right now. He’s barely breathing as the CT machine hums, scanning his body. The doctors and Honey Lemon are in the viewing room but no one is saying anything and Tadashi is left to his thoughts. _How? Why?_ The questions are circling in his head like vultures and Tadashi thinks he might go insane.

When everything is done, Tadashi is let back into his room – where Jack promptly buries himself in Tadashi’s arms, firing off a million questions at once.

“Jack,” Tadashi tells him after Jack relaxes and pulls his lips from the doctor’s. “I haven’t seen anything yet and the blood work is going to take at least a week. And no, they can’t expedite my tests – there are others who need blood work done first.”

Jack sighs – that’s just like Tadashi, always looking out for everyone else before himself.

“I’m scared.” And it’s the tiny voice that Jack says it in that kills him. Tadashi knows that he shouldn’t – _can’t_ – give Jack false hope, knows that this is too big of an issue and he can’t break Jack down any more than he probably already is. So Tadashi just holds Jack, runs his hand up and down Jack’s back, and kisses his white hair.

“C’mere,” Tadashi says and leads Jack to the bed. Jack leans heavily against Tadashi and the doctor says, “I don’t want you to be scared, Jack, but I can’t blame you if you are.”

Jack doesn’t say anything when Tadashi takes his hand and threads their fingers together.

“As scary as this is, I promise I’ll try not to lie to you.”

“ _Try_ not to?”

“It’ll- be hard for me, Jack. I hate how uncomfortable this is making you as it is… How uncomfortable this is making everyone,” Tadashi admits.

“Doctors really do make the worst patients, then,” Jack says, forcing a laugh and Tadashi forces back a wince.

“But I owe the truth to you.”

They’re quiet for a while until there’s a knock on the door and Jack doesn’t have to look up to know it’s Honey Lemon. He hears the flopping of a scan envelope and closes his eyes, waiting for the worst.

 

 

 

“Jack, calm _dow_ —“ Tadashi barely has time to get out of the way as a lamp smashes against the spot on the wall he was just standing in front of.

“ _Don’t tell me to calm down_!!” Jack screams, grabs and throws whatever is within reach and all Tadashi can do is move out of the way. Tadashi is alarmed at Jack’s behavior – the entire way home he was quiet as a storm rolling in and true, Tadashi expected Jack to be upset when they got home.

But not like this.

Their room is in shambles, the kitchen and living room not in any better condition. The dining room was the only place untouched – for now. Tadashi watches Jack fall to the floor behind their half toppled bed and hears him sobbing. God, Tadashi wants to go to Jack, wants to wrap him in his arms and tell Jack it’ll be alright. But it’s not alright, not _going_ to be alright.

“ _You have a year – at most, Tadashi. We can do chemo, surgery – help lengthen the time you have left._ ”

So Tadashi just walks out into the kitchen, slowly picks things up and puts them away before he decides to make spaghetti. Halfway through boiling the noodles Tadashi hears a sniffle and suddenly Jack is behind him, wrapping his arms around the doctor.

“Are you hurt?” Jack whispers with a hiccup and Tadashi shakes his head.

“No, I’m fine. Are you?”

“Not fine. I kinda cut up my hands…” Jack tells him and as soon as Tadashi is done draining the noodles he cleans up and bandages Jack’s hands, kisses each of his knuckles.

“I love you,” Tadashi says and for what it’s worth, Jack doesn’t look away.

But he doesn’t say anything, either.

 

 

It’s almost two weeks later – the blood work comes back positive, of course. As well as the biopsy.

_Mesothelioma. Stage III._

Tadashi’s read the result page at least six times over and Jack still barely says anything since the day they came home.

_“The building collapse,” Honey Lemon says. “It must’ve had asbestos in the walls. It_ was _an old building. That combined with the dust, dirt, and God knows what else… Well. You know.”_

Tadashi thinks about Aunt Cass and Hiro – torn up and depressed. She’s upset, which is understandable, and Tadashi is glad Hiro is there with her even if he’s just as – if not more – upset.

“—ou sure he won’t stay over?” Tadashi’s pulled back into the conversation with Tooth and he shakes his head slightly.

“I’m not sure, actually. He’s barely said anything to me but he won’t make a move to go anywhere except for work,” the doctor says into the phone, stirring a pot of green beans. “But I’m worried about… After all this.”

“Why are you worried? You have it easy,” Tooth says. “You die. The end. All worries gone.” Her voice is sickeningly bitter and Tadashi lets himself make a noise of annoyance.

“Not about _me_. About him – Jack. About Hiro and Aunt Cass. About you guys. Sure I’ll be gone but I’ll be leaving a mess in my wake.” _It’s not my fault._ The unsaid words hang in the air heavily and Tadashi is only half certain Tooth is still there until he hears her sigh as if saying, “I know.”

“A mess indeed.”

 

 

 

“I’ve been thinking,” Tadashi whispers into Jack’s hair that night. Their room is mostly put back together – save for the lack of lamps.

“About what?” Jack asks after Tadashi thinks he’s asleep.

“About you. About us. About… after. Jack, I don’t want you to worry when I’m gone-“

“ _Don’t,_ ” Jack says quickly, too quickly. He turns around and glares at Tadashi. “Just _don’t_. I can’t- handle this.” Instead of saying anything, Tadashi kisses Jack, doesn’t pull away when he bites his lip hard enough to bleed.

“ _Stop_ ,” Jack says, even though Tadashi hasn’t done or said anything – not even moved to wipe away the blood on his lips or the tears streaming down Jack’s face. “I _love you, damn it_. I love you so _fucking_ much. You’re such an _idiot_ for doing your job but I love you. I love you and I wouldn’t want you any other way. _I love you_ …”

Tadashi just holds Jack, kisses back when kissed, and when they finally settle down again after Jack letting out his _frustrations_ , Tadashi is smiling – after a brief coughing fit.

“Jack?”

“If you say anything about any time frame after tomorrow I’m going to—“

“If I asked you to marry me, would you say yes?”

“Ki— _What_?” Jack is lifting his upper half up from where he was laying on Tadashi to look down at the doctor with a look of _what the fuck?_

“If I asked you to—“ Tadashi tries again.

“ _Yes._ I mean, no. I mean… _Why?_ ”

“If I go into the underlying motives, you’ll probably get pissed at me again. But for the sake of getting _some_ sleep tonight, because I love you, too.”

Jack doesn’t know what to say. Doesn’t know if he is supposed to be pissed or what. But right now Jack is trying to forget that in one short year – if they’re lucky – his world is going to crash down around his ears. So, it’s pretty much a no-brainer and he says, “Yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for disappearing guys ;; I've been really busy lately with work, school starting up, and moving - which hasn't left too much room for me to do more than little blurbs of stuff. Also, making myself cry.


	11. To Tie a Knot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dressing up in black and white

“You fucking _jacka_ —”

“Tooth, I’m not doing this to hurt anyone.”

“You’re going to _hurt him_ beyond reason. You should just… Just _get out_. Get out of his life and let him- remember you this way,” Tooth screams, tries her best to keep her tears from falling and failing miserably. She’s pacing back and forth in her living room and Tadashi is sitting in an armchair, trying his best to resist the urge to get up and hug her.

“You’re going to wake your girlfriend up,” Tadashi points out instead and even he winces at the glare she gives him.

“Too late. I’ve been up for an hour,” Gogo says, walking in with a cup of coffee and decidedly occupies the left arm of Tadashi’s chair. Tooth’s face flashes between angry and guilty as Gogo combs her fingers through her short hair, taming the worst of her tangles. “As much as I agree with Tooth, Tadashi, I have to agree with you more.”

Tooth looks like she suddenly wants to punch something. “ _What_? Gogo, this is _nuts_! It’s a rash decision that’s going to—”

“Going to what, Tooth? Make everyone as happy as they can be for as long as they can?” Gogo gets up and holds Tooth tightly. “No one has the luxury of time. We’re _all_ going to crash and burn and the best thing we can do is hold each other through it. You don’t have to like this, or like how fast this is going. But if anyone is going to need you, it’s Jack.”

And then Tooth is sobbing into Gogo’s shoulder and Tadashi can’t sit still anymore. He hugs them both, all the while ignoring the hurt in his own chest.

 

 

Everyone – literally, _everyone_ – is having dinner at Aunt Cass’s later. They’re all awkward, trying to tiptoe around the subject of Tadashi's… Illness. Tadashi can tell Aunt Cass hasn’t been well, at all – hasn’t slept, hasn’t eaten, can barely function. Despite putting her best forward for tonight. He feels so bad… Which is why he and Jack decide to tell everyone of their engagement. Everyone is quiet for a moment, trying to decide what to feel, and then there’s suddenly an excuse for celebration. Aunt Cass can’t stop hugging – _squeezing_ – Tadashi, the doctor is elated to see light in his aunt’s face even if it’s for a brief moment. Talking to Honey Lemon, Tadashi finds she shares some concerns with Tooth.

“It’s going to hurt, Tadashi,” Honey says, referring to Jack. He squeezes her shoulder and says, “I know. I don’t want to, but I know it’s going to. But-”

“You want to do this early enough to make sure Jack is taken care of. _I know_. I’m the one that does the paperwork for all that, remember?” Honey Lemon has a smile on her lips and Tadashi can’t help but hug her.

“Will you make sure they don’t screw him over?” Tadashi asks in a whisper, referring to the greedy lawyers that Honey seems to always be locked in legal battle with. Honey Lemon nods and says, “Tooth and nail, I’ll fight them off.”

Later, Tadashi goes looking for Hiro when he notices the youngest Hamada missing. He finds Hiro up on the roof, the same spot they always came to sit back when Tadashi was still in med school and he was driving himself insane with studying. Tadashi hands Hiro a can of soda and settles next to his brother, looking up at the few stars they can see through the haze of lights.

“Don’t stress so hard, kiddo. It’ll turn you old and gray before you hit twent— _Ow_ , hey!” Tadashi rubs his arm where Hiro socked him and Tadashi feels guilty when he sees the tears in the kid’s eyes, sodas forgotten on the old shingles.

“Hiro…”

“Stop pretending like the end of the world isn’t coming.”

“The end of the _world_ isn't—”

“The end of _my world_ is!” Hiro can’t stop his tears from falling now and Tadashi wraps him in his arms.

“First mom and dad… now you…”

“You don’t remember mom and dad that well.”

“I’m trying to _make a point_.”

“Right, sorry.”

But Hiro doesn’t say anything else because he’s pretty sure Tadashi gets it. They’re quiet for a while, listening to the faint sounds of night life before Tadashi speaks again.

“You wanna be my best man?”

“I thought that was supposed to be reserved for your best friend,” Hiro says, sniffing.

“You _are_ my best friend, Hiro.” The honesty in Tadashi’s voice makes Hiro look up and smile, wiping his eyes.

Hiro shrugs and says, “I guess I could be.”

 

 

About a month later they have the ceremony. Its outdoors in a park more on the outskirts of town, and a small gathering – close friends and family only and really, that’s all they need. Tadashi still chuckles when he remembers the small fight they had over last names.

“I want yours,” Jack had said, then walked away to go call his sister in Maine, leaving no more room for argument.

Speaking of, Tadashi sees Pippa walk out in a beautiful dress, tossing flower petals down. She grins at Tadashi and walks to stand on the opposite side of the altar and suddenly he can hear the music louder and everyone stands. Aunt Cass is walking with Jack down the aisle and _god_ she looks so happy Tadashi thinks she might burst from the seams with joy.

“I love you both,” Cass says quietly, kissing each of their cheeks when they reach the altar and everyone is seated.

“Hey beautiful, come here often?” Tadashi whispers to Jack, eyeing the handsome man dressed in a white suit next to him. Tadashi is in a black one and chuckles quietly when Jack elbows him playfully. The doctor squeezes Jack’s hand and all he can think about right now is how happy and right everything is in this moment.

 

 

“You _little_ —” Tadashi says around a face full of cake. Jack is almost in tears next to him with how hard he’s laughing and the doctor is pretty sure Jack is all kinds of proud of himself. He hears everyone else laughing and he can’t help but laugh, too, wiping the cake off. He knows at least Honey Lemon has gotten a picture and is more than certain she’s going to give a copy to everyone.

“I love you, _husband_ ,” Jack says sweetly, kisses Tadashi’s cheek and licks off a smidge of frosting Tadashi missed.

Tadashi grins and dumps a flute of champagne on Jack’s head. “Love you more, _hubby_.”

Jack shakes his hair out and tries to glare at Tadashi, but Tadashi kisses him before he can say anything else, licking his lips of bubbly champagne and whatever frosting was left over. All Tadashi can do is laugh when Jack’s face goes red at the hooting and hollering.

Once all the documents are signed, everyone is mingling and the atmosphere is relaxed but happy. Tadashi notices that Aunt Cass’s eyes don’t have dark circles around them, and Hiro is off climbing trees with Pippa. Fred is trying to snort champagne and make it come out of his tear ducts while Wasabi tries – and fails – not to look grossed out. There’s a flash of blonde hair and suddenly Tadashi is being hauled off by Honey, who’s going on about babies and things about a mile a minute.

“Woah, woah… Honey, Jack and I can't—”

“Not _you_!” she says, rolling her eyes and smiling. “Tooth and Gogo!”

“Wait, what?”

It’s too late to ask questions now because suddenly everyone is gathered around Tooth and Gogo, announcing—

“We’re going to be adopting a baby!” Tooth giggles excitedly, grinning so wide, Tadashi is afraid she might split her face in half.

Gogo is next to her, sighing and rolling her eyes, but there’s a smile on her lips. “We were going to wait until _after_ the wedding – sorry, you two,” she says, nodding at Tadashi and now, apparently, Jack, who looks like he might faint with the news. “But, uh, yeah.”

Tadashi secures an arm around Jack’s waist and Jack suddenly blurts out, “Holy _cow_ , congratulations!” Tooth practically squeals and hugs Gogo, kissing her cheek.

Even though Tadashi is nearly getting a head rush from how fast everything is advancing, he can’t help but smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lengthy updates are lengthy because I'm moving again and I am not the greatest at wedding scenes aha - so there’s a good chance I might rewrite this someday


	12. Baby Steps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which everyone is trying to handle what's to come.

“Come on… Say ‘mama’. C’mon sweet pea, you can do it! Say, ‘mama’. Mahhh... Mahhh.”

“Poppy!”

From the kitchen, Tooth hears Gogo laugh loudly. “She said it yesterday, I swear!” Tooth is defending, sighing but giving a smile to their child. Poppy seemed to be a favorite word of hers, and neither Tooth nor Gogo could understand where she had got it from or why she was so taken to saying it. Standing, Tooth takes the girl’s hands, and lifts her so she’s standing on her feet.

Walking her, Tooth says down to her daughter, “Come on, Rashmi, let’s go see what mama’s making for dinner.”

 

 

“You look like you’re recovering well, Tadashi,” Dr. Fairbanks says from across his desk, handing over the folder with Tadashi’s latest scans.

“Trust me, it’s been hell,” Tadashi says in reply, looking tired and worn but he still has a smile on his lips. Tadashi is pale and has circles around his eyes, but his doctor can see the sparkle his eyes hold. Despite looking sickly, he’s still strong, Dr. Fairbanks thinks quietly, and he can’t help but admire Tadashi’s strength.

 “The fact that you still are insistent on practicing is honestly astounding.”

“Well, I can’t sit around and do nothing. I’m a doctor, after all,” Tadashi replies. Dr. Fairbanks nods. There’s the familiar sound of film wobbling as Tadashi holds his scans up towards the ceiling lights, assessing each one for no more than thirty seconds. There’s no increase in the size of the growths in his lungs – but that could mean anything. Chemo isn’t a guaranteed thing with the severity of his cancer.

Tadashi says, “Even if it means I’m only taking a patient or two at a time, I’m still a doctor. A little cancer isn’t going to change that.” His chuckle lightens the mood and his doctor can’t help but chuckle as well.

“Yes, well, take it easy, Tadashi. It only gets harder from here.”

Tadashi slides the scans back into the envelope, swallowing thickly and trying to ignore the slight nausea trying to develop.

 

 

 

Jack is mulling around the food court while Tadashi is consulting with his doctor, respectful to his husband and himself – they both knew Jack would be nothing but a nervous mess in there, anyway. So he’s not expecting the random buzz from his pocket that means he’s gotten a message. Wondering who the hell could be texting him now, Jack unlocks his phone and is surprised to see it’s a message from Hiro.

‘ _How is he?_ ’ The tiny letters from his screen feel like they’re stabbing him in the brain. Jack sighs and thinks about just deleting it and ignoring Hiro, but he decides against it on the grounds that Hiro doesn’t deserve that. He’s just as worried as Jack.

‘ _He’s still talking with his doctor. I opted to hang out in the food court._ ’ Jack types, and after a moment, adds, ‘ _How’re you?_ ’

It’s around five minutes before Hiro responds. ‘ _Ok._ ’

Jack knows he’s lying, but doesn’t call him on it. No one is really okay right now, and he can’t possibly imagine what Hiro – or even Aunt Cass – is going through. So, he tries to change the subject. ‘ _Have you invented anything cool lately?_ ’

‘ _Well, there was this one thing I’ve been working on…_ ’

Hiro’s enthusiasm brings a smile to Jack’s face, and he forgets for a while that he’s even in a hospital. Instead, he’s engrossed in comparing notes with Hiro and offering suggestions about designs. He’s so wrapped up he doesn’t notice that his husband has taken a seat across the table from him until Tadashi gives a small laugh and says, “What’s got you so happy? Secret admirer?” Jack jumps slightly and looks up.

“Er… Your brother was just telling me about his latest project.” Jack scratches his head lightly and smiles when Tadashi grins. It makes Jack’s heart beat erratically – that smile. It lets Jack forget about their situation and remember how much he loves the doctor. If he could, he’d take all the pain and illness away. He realizes, without surprise, that he’d do anything for Tadashi. Anything and everything.

“Hey,” Tadashi says, calling Jack back to the present. He reaches across the table to take his husband’s hand, looking into Jack’s blue eyes. “Ready to go home?”

Jack smiles and nods, squeezing Tadashi’s hand lightly.

 

 

At home, Jack and Tadashi curl up in bed for a while. Jack is reading a thick novel about children being terrorized by a demon well into their adult lives while Tadashi sleeps, his head in the crook of Jack’s neck and the younger man nearly starts crying out of nowhere. Thoughts about small moments like these suddenly circle Jack’s mind and he bites his lip hard and rides the emotion until it passes. He’s reaching up to wipe at his eyes when he feels Tadashi’s lips against his neck and then again on the underside of his jaw. Jack doesn’t look down at Tadashi, instead choosing to bury his face in the doctor’s dark locks. Tadashi holds Jack through the sobs that wrack his body, ignoring the wetness in his own eyes in favor of consoling his husband.

All he can say is, “I love you.”

 

 

 

“I think it’s a good idea,” Aunt Cass says. She’s in the kitchen making lunch, while Tadashi and Jack are sitting at the table. Jack bites the inside of his cheek and thinks over his words.

“I… think we shouldn’t.” Jack’s voice is wary – he doesn’t want to upset Cass but jeez, he thinks, she’s being kind of stupid.

Cass’s jaw tightens and Tadashi clears his throat because he can see her anger mounting. “It’s not _we_ ,” she says, venom in her voice. “It’s _him_. And yes, _he_ should. It’s practical.”

“It’s stupid.”

Jack clenches his fist and keeps Cass’s glare bravely. Tadashi commends him on it because not many people are able to do so.

“ _Stupid?_ ”

“Aunt Cass—“

There’s a _thunk_ of a knife being stuck forcefully into a chopping block and Cass’s voice raises in pitch. “ _Stupid??_ It’s stupid that _my nephew_ should get everything sorted out and—“

“And what?” Jack challenges, rising from his seat. “Divvy up his things like some… some kind of divorce court ruling?”

“That’s not-“

“It’s exactly what it is-“

“You’re just being a stupid _child_!”

“And you’re being a stupid old—“

“Shut up! Both of you!” Tadashi’s voice rings over both of theirs and they stop midsentence. The look on his face is a mix of exhaustion, anger, and sadness. Immediately, both Cass and Jack feel pangs of shame. Though their anger towards each other doesn’t dim.

“You’re talking about me like I’m already dead.” Jack’s heart drops through the floor and Cass looks like she’s been slapped.

“Tadashi, that’s not-“

“I know it’s not what you mean to happen. But I’m _right here_. Still breathing, my heart still beating. I’m still alive. So just stop. Just… _stop_. No one’s fighting over my things, no one’s getting things sorted to them by a judge. I don’t need a will – or at least, I didn’t think I’d need one. Now? Now, I might actually be considering it.”

Tadashi scrubs his hand over his face and walks out, leaving Jack and Cass in stunned, shameful silence.

 

 

 

“He hates me.”

“Jack, you’re being an idiot. If he hated you, he wouldn’t have married you,” Tooth counters, her voice very matter-of-fact sounding. Rashmi claps her hands together, then looks up and Jack. He smiles at her in his arms, and she laughs.

“I pissed him off. Pissed Aunt Cass off. Hell, I probably pissed Hiro and Baymax off,” Jack retorts.

“Oh, _please._ Baymax is a robot. He doesn’t even get _offended_!” Tooth scoffs, rolling her eyes at Jack’s look. “You had a point. Cass had a point. You’re both stressed out and emotional and it got out of hand. And Tadashi had an even bigger point. Just tell him you’re sorry.”

Jack dances a small stuffed bee in front of Rashmi, grinning at her. In a sing-song goofy voice, he says, “I already tried. Yes I did, yes I did! Uncle Tadashi is still upset – visibly. Oh, yes!” The baby lets out a shrill scream of delight and takes the bee, shaking it up and down before turning it over in her hands. Then, promptly shoves the head in her mouth and tries to gum it to death.

“You’re just being an idiot. Still.” Tooth leans down to dig through the diaper bag for some baby munchies.

“I’m not-“

“Then let it be for a few days before trying to talk to him again,” she says, dumping out some tiny, poofed rice stars on the table. Jack sets Rashmi down on the floor and she crawls to the table to devour them.

“…Alright.”

 

 

 

A few days turns into a week and a half. Jack and Tadashi are sitting on the couch when Jack finally works up the nerve to say something and says, “I’m sorry. I know I’ve already said it, but I’m going to say it again. I feel like an ass for what I said and how stupidly heartless I acted so… I’m sorry. If you want to do—“

“Jack, I don’t really want to sit in some lawyer’s office for hours on end day after day and sort out who gets my things when I die.” Tadashi’s voice is soft, his hand taking Jack’s. He examines Jack’s hand, the details of his skin before entwining their fingers together. “I don’t want that drama to exist, nor do I think you guys will be stupid and stubborn enough to do that. I trust them, and above all, I trust you. I just… I just want to spend the rest of my time with you and everyone else. Don’t bicker over my things – bicker over something else, like the color of the paint to put on Rashmi’s walls.”

Jack can’t help but laugh. He laughs until tears are rolling down his face and his laughter turns into sobs. Tadashi holds him close, stroking Jack’s snow white hair while his chest becomes impossibly tight.

“Purple,” Jack says between sniffles. “The walls should be purple. It’s her color.”

Tadashi smiles, wiping Jack’s tear away. He seems to mull over the comment for a moment and nods in agreement. “Purple is a lovely color for her, isn’t it?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT LIVESSSSS!
> 
> I decided to make this chapter longer than I normally do and add extra emotion to make up for lost time. With summer looming on the horizon I hope to get more out to you guys. Thank you a lot for sticking around ;u; It means a lot to me <3


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